Dedicated to exposing the abuses of human rights, threats to the security of the free world, and attacks on general decency committed by Communist China, and to influencing policy in the free world to ensure these egregious acts do not go unopposed.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Due to a couple of illnesses (one to a family member, the other to the family network) and previously scheduled events tomorrow (North Korea Freedom Day), the next News of the Day will be on Monday, May 1; apologies for the short notice, but the former is very recent news to me, too.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

A must read for anyone still convinced the Communist regime is ceding economic control: It's a rare day when a story grabs the headline over the China Freedom Blog Alliance links, but George Wehrfritz of Newsweek International has a rare piece. Wehrfritz sweeps away the smoke and mirrors on Communist China's plans for the economy: "Led by China and Russia, state companies are both consolidating control at home and expanding aggressively abroad." Specifically regarding the CCP, "Contrary to conventional wisdom, China's state sector continues to grow, while the local private sector (not including joint ventures) struggles, says MIT economist Yasheng Huang" (for Professor Huang's more detailed analysis on the Communist economy, see last item). Finally, don't forget this the next time someone brandishes statistics showing Communist China's economy in largely "private" hands: "many analysts say the official statistics overstate the trend, in part by removing all joint ventures from the state sector, even when the state retains control, and by ignoring the domination of many supposedly private firms by former state officials who remain ruling-party members." Sadly, Wehrfritz is more sanguine about regime-owned firms in the world economy than he should be, but he doesn't ignore those who note the inherent contradiction of the existence of such firms in a "free" market. More importantly, he takes the "engagement" forces' most potent argument - that a private, non-regime-controlled economy is taking shape in Communist China - and cuts it to ribbons.From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: The Korea Liberator takes note of Iran's offer to spread its nuclear know-how (here's the BBC story on the subject, and this quarter's call for Iran's liberation), presents the remainingschedule for North Korea Freedom Week, and has the latest news on the Stalinist North.

More on the Communists' Korean colony: Japan demands the extradition of a leading Stalinist kidnapper (BBC); a visitor to Pyongyang is warned that the walls have ears (Daily NK); food rations are being cut back (Daily NK).

Dr. Wang defended in U.S., deleted in Communist China: The charges against Dr. Wang Wenyi for her protest at the Bush-Hu summit (third and second items) are themselves coming under criticism from several Christian leaders, including Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, and Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition (World Net Daily). Meanwhile, the Communists, in their bid to make Hu look less the bloodthirsty dictator and more the honored statesmen, wiped out any mention of Dr. Wang's noble act (MSNBC).

Sky News investigates "deeply sinister" organ market in Communist China: Sky TV (the British counterpart to Fox News - both are News Corp. subsidiaries) conducted an investigation "that confirms important claims The Epoch Times has made in its own investigations into organ harvesting in China," including the use of executed prisoners as organ sources. The reporter, Dominic Waghorn, focused on Beijing, with its "endless supply of livers . . . the reasons why are deeply sinister," rather than Sujiatun.

Electronic national ID cards coming to Communist China: The cadres are "implementing an unprecedented program to give its citizens RFID tags to verify their identities" (United Press International via Washington Times). RFID is short for radio-frequency identification tag, meaning the Communist regime will be better able to keep track of every single citizen - dissidents included, within the area it controls.

Commentary and analysis: Sonya Bryskine, Epoch Times, notes the seventh anniversary (yesterday) of the "Zhongnanhai appeal," the peaceful Falun Gong protest that preceded the bloody crackdown against the spiritual movement. Tim Luard, BBC, ponders the fate of Tibet after the current Dalai Lama passes on.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Over the last week, the Communists rolled out the big gun in their propaganda campaign against the charges of organ harvesting in Sujiatun: the U.S. State Department. To be accurate, the Department rolled itself out, and to be fair, it merely stated it had not found evidence of Falun Gong organ-harvesting. Still, it was enough to sow some doubt in the Sujiatun accounts throughout the blogosphere (The Korea Liberator, Small Dead Animals).

I, however, continue to believe there were atrocities at Sujiatun.

I say "were" because no cadre in their right mind would let a camp like that continue anywhere in Shenyang (the city of which Sujiatun is a part). They'd move whatever practitioners were left somewhere else, which is what I suspect they did.

So why do I believe I'm right? For the answer to that, let's look at what the Department actually said:

The Department and our Embassy in Beijing, as well as our Consulate General in Shenyang, have actively sought to determine the facts of the matter. Officers and staff from our Embassy in Beijing and Consulate in Shenyang have visited the area and the specific site mentioned in these reports on two separate occasions. In these visits the officers were allowed to tour the entire facility and grounds and found no evidence that the site is being used for any function other than as a normal public hospital.This raises more questions then it answers. For starters, what exactly was the "entire facility and grounds"? The reports on the Sujiatun camp make clear that the practitioners were moved to an underground facility sometime in 2003 (Epoch Times). Was that included? I don't ask this to imply the Department is hiding anything, but rather to make clear the likelihood that what the Department was told to be "the entire facility and grounds" and what the cadres actually know to be "the entire facility and grounds" are two separate things.

Furthermore, there is the question of when the tours were conducted. The Communists themselves waited nearly three weeks after the first report (March 9) to issue a denial of Sujiatun. Did the American officials see the facility before or after this time? Keep in mind, we're talking up to 6,000 prisoners (add in guards and overseers and maybe you hit 7,000). That may seem like a large number of people to move, but the Virginia Railway Express commuter system (Washington, DC - Fredericksburg and Manassas, VA) has a ridership of over 14,00o a day (Potomac News).

Moreover, the American officials who took the tour probably had minders with them, although the statement doesn't speak on that. Interestingly enough, the statement doesn't actually speak to the main charges either. While all the Communists and "engagement" folks (not to be confused with the two bloggers to which I linked earlier) stopped at the above citation, the Department itself goes on to say: "We have raised these reports with the Chinese government and urged it to investigate these allegations. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson has publicly denied there is any basis for the allegations." Was there a reason this was mentioned after the partstating no evidence was found? Is the State Department of the opinion that further investigation is warranted? Or am I just reading too much into the order of the paragraphs?

Regardless of the contextual issues of the statement, the State Department's examination of the charges, while certainly not affirming them, did little, if anything, to refute them either. Nothing against the Department, one can only see what one is allowed to see in a situation like that, and if the consulate officials had tried to see more, they would have likely been rebuffed. If the supposition I put forward in the paragraph above is correct, even the State Department itself is taking that into account.

It all really comes down to who one believes: the Communists, or the sources who have come forward on Sujiatun. This is where the Communist propaganda comes a-cropper.

If we are to believe the Communists on this, then we must also believe that these two sources - a journalist and a former hospital staffer - are lying. Let's think about that for a moment: a journalist who has already talked to the Epoch Times, Bill Gertz of the Washington Times, and Jay Nordlinger of National Review would willingly risk his own life and the lives of his family members for - a lie? Somehow, I doubt it. Same deal with the hospital staffer. She may have something gain, cynics will say, because her ex-husband was involved, but what would that be? Her ex-husband is already dying of cancer (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, what she could lose (her life, her family, etc.), is far greater.

The Communists, however, have a lot to gain by covering up Sujiatun. There are already reports of other camps out there, including one which may have over 100,000 prisoners (Epoch Times). If more people agree that the sources' accounts of Sujiatun are true, they'll wonder about the claims of other camps, including ones the Communists haven't cleaned up for outside inspection. Even the camps that are merely engaged in the usual "reeducation through labor" would lead outsiders to recoil in horror.

At this point, more than a month after the first reports, I - like many others - sincerely doubt there will be any evidence of the organ harvesting in Sujiatun, but I still believe it happened. It fits the Communist pattern of complete lack of respect for human life. A regime that has killed over 70 million people would hardly be above turning prisoners, especially political prisoners, into biological chop-shop victims. After all, reports of organ harvesting from prisoners in Communist China are more than five years old (Village Voice).In time, when the Chinese people take their country back from the Communist regime, we will all see and recognize the horrific things this regime has done. Until then, we must remain vigilant, and understand that the Communists will do anything to maintain power, from organ harvesting of prisoners to arminganti-Americanterrorists. The democratic world will never be secure until China is free.

More on The Good Doctor: Zhang Tianliang (Epoch Times) has some advice for Hu on how to react to Dr. Wang (don't expect him to follow it).

More on the Communists' Korean colony: Daily NKexamines the degraded condition of the Stalinist military. As North Korea Freedom Week kicks off, a former SNK soldier says the regime has nuclear weapons and confirms the truth about international food aid: "Nothing gets to the citizen" (Newsmax). Tim Johnson (Knight Ridder via San Jose Mercury News) examines the plight of relatives of Japanese abduction victims.

Taiwanese legislature calls for investigation of organ harvesting: A resolution "calling on international human-rights organizations to investigate what it said was China's 'monstrous crime' of harvesting the organs of Falun Gong practitioners" (Taipei Times) sailed through Taiwan's legislature with support "from across party lines."

Other commentary on Communist China: TimeAsia does a puff piece on religion under the CCP. The Epoch Times editor lament the end of the Gongtan, an ancient town about to be flooded by a Communist dam. Anna Quindlen (Newsweek) gets some internal things about Communist China surprisingly right - and nearly everything about Cold War II unsurprisingly wrong. Patrick Goodenough (Cybercast News) examines the Communists' increasing influence in Africa (ninth, fourth, last, fifteenth, sixth, lead, and ninth items).

World Peace Conference drops Dalai Lama: The 2006 International Prayer for Peace conference will not include the Dalai Lama, who was a headliner at the inaugural 1986 gathering. A spokesman for the Community of Sant'Egidio said Tibet's spiritual leader would be absent for health reasons, but Kate Saunders, from the International Campaign for Tibet, disputed that claim: "it is likely that pressure from the Chinese authorities may have been involved" (Washington Times).

Shaun Kenney asks some serious questions about a missile import scheme.Dr. Wang Wenyi brought up on charges for speaking truth to power: The Good Doctor presented her reasons for taking such a public stand in a compelling piece for the Epoch Times, the paper that granted her a press pass for the press conference (and did some perfunctory backpedaling). Dr. Wang called her action "not a crime but an act of civil disobedience" (Epoch Times). The charges, which included possible jail time for "harassing" Communist leader Hu Jintao (CNN), were panned by the editors of the Washington Post as "an action that affronts American values." The cross-town Washington Times went further, hailing The Good Doctor as the Noble of the Week. MichelleMalkin was also gushing with praise. The president felt the need to apologize to Hu (CNN), which led the Shotgun's Darcey to say this: "George Bush is a liberal. A girly man." Zing. Meanwhile, Communist media, of course, sent the whole thing down the memory hole (BBC, CBS). Also reporting: Cybercast News, London Times, New York Daily News, Washington Times, and World Net Daily

As for the summit itself, after The Good Doctor was forced to cut her point short, the substance of the summit between Hu Jintao and President Bush went as expected - Bush pushed gently and Hu refused to budge (Weekly Standard, BBC, Washington Times). One topic that seems to be omitted was the spate of arrests of Christians in Yunnan Province (World Net Daily, Boxun).The style, however, had a rather large snafu: a reference to Hu as leader of the Republic of China (the Communist regime goes by the name of People's Republic of China, BBC).

Other parts of Hu's trip inside the United States: Before reaching Washington, Hu was in the Pacific Northwest, lunching with Bill Gates and visiting Boeing (CNN, BBC) - that would be the Boeing caught selling missile computer chips to Communist China (fourth item). After Washington, he went to Yale University, which treated him with way too much respect (National Review Online - Phi BetaCon blog), while a CNN producer "was kicked out of a private reception this morning at the Yale President Richard C. Levin's office for asking a question about protests against Chinese leader Hu Jintao" (Epoch Times).

Parts of Hu's trip outside the United States: The Communist leader went from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia "to negotiate new oil supplies" (London Sunday Telegraph via Washington Times), and then to Africa (BBC).

Trip inspired commentary - the good: Hu's visit sparked the pundits the pen several analyses, among the best were Jed Babbin in The American Spectator on the "Pacific Cold War," Congressman Trent Franks (World Net Daily), the editors of the Washington Post, Al Santoli of the Asia America Initiative, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Los Angeles Times). Also good were Don Feder (Washington Times) regarding Taiwan, the editors of the Epoch Times, regarding the cadres' hopes for domestic exploitation of the trip, Wes Pruden (Washington Times) for the effects here at home, and the WashingtonTimes editors for a rather clear-eyed look at Sino-American relations. Meanwhile, Christian Lowe (Daily Standard) examined Communist China's military ambitions; Rich Lowry (National Review Online) and the editors of the Washington Timeshighlight the intellectual piracy issue. William F. Buckley weighed in (National Review Online), as did some leading Taiwan analysts (Taipei Times). Lin Dan, Xie Zongyan, and Chen Xiuwen examine Hu Jintao's plans for the U.S. - and their not good (EpochTimes). Gary Schmitt , of the Project for the New American Century, takes a broader - but no less concerned - view in the Weekly Standard, as does Peter Brookes in National Review Onlineand Li Tianxiao in an interview with the Epoch Times. WorldwideStandard threw in with the pro-democracy crowd (no real surprise, as it's the Weekly Standard's blog). Philip Sherwell and Peter Goff (London Daily Telegraph) examine Communist China's energy ties to some of the world's worst thugs. Eve Fairbanks, blogging for The New Republic, finds a sea of pro-Communist demonstrators, and concluded "They must be paid" - she may have no idea how right she is (fourth item). Finally, Jai Singh (Foreign Policy) contrasts this summit with the much warmer one between President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.Trip inspired commentary - the not-too-bad: Gary Bass of Princeton University detailed Communist China's ties to "unsavory friends" in the Washington Post, but sadly refused to recognize the deeper meaning of them. Melinda Lu (Newsweek) does quite well in detailing the "quiet battle of ideas" between Communist China and the U.S., but misses the direct geopolitical role of the cadres' make-the-world-safe-for-dictators policy. Jim Hoagland is his usual, maddening self (Washington Post). Fellow Post columnist David Ignatius examines the effect of Communist China on the commodity markets, while the editors of the Washington Timesfocus on oil.

Trip inspired commentary - the not-so-good: The BBC has two authors (Justin Webb and Steve Schifferes) who focus on trade disputes, but not security issues. Ming Ya's heart is in the right place, but yours truly can't quite place her head (Weekly Standard). Lanxin Xiang, director of the China Center at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, uses a little misdirection to cover a minor hatchet job against most anti-Communists in the Washington Post. Sebastian Mallaby (Washington Post) is bullish on the U.S., but somewhat Pollyannaish about Communist China. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Economy and Adam Segal, both from the Council on Foreign Relations, hold fewer illusions about the cadres', but still make a weak call for "engagement" in the Washington Post. Simon Elegant (TimeAsia) sought the opinion of ordinary Chinese on the U.S., and actually believed the people inside Communist China could honestly answer his questions. The editors of the Washington Times, so good on Dr. Wang, blow it badly on the state of the workers in the workers' state. Finally, John Tamny has see-no-evil column in National Review Online.United States moving in a more anti-Communist direction: Meanwhile, the U.S. government "has adopted a bold new strategy for countering the emergence of a threatening China with policies that were drawn up several years ago and started being implemented in the past several months" (Bill Gertz, Washington Times). The main driver for this was apparently Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.Yahoo caught helping the Communists imprison a third dissident: The tech firm that helped the Communists find and capture Shi Tao (fourteenth, fifth, lead, third, eighth, seventh, third, fifth, eighth, last, third, fourth, and fourth items) and Li Zhi (third, eighth, and eighth items) has been exposed by Reporters Without Borders as being instrumental in the arrest of Jiang Lijun (Boxun).Other U.S.-Communist China News: Senator Dianne Feinstein (up for re-election this year in California) told "a gathering of Chinese-American business leaders in San Francisco" (Newsmax) that America has no real commitment to Taiwan, infuriating Taiwanese-Americans there. The House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations held a pre-summit hearing on Communist China's human rights abuses (Epoch Times). The Communist-owned China Construction Bank is looking for a piece of Bear Stearns (Newsweek). Bill Gertz, Washington Times, interviews Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick on Communist China. Gertz also reported regime links to the missile smuggling CFBA member Shaun Kenney was pondering. Communist China's central bank head says the world should worry about our currency, not his (CBS). Finally, Senator Norm Coleman asks the Communists to be an "energy partner" (Newsmax). The editors of the Washington Times examine Communist China's plans "to compete with the United States in the realm of space supremacy, if not now, then in the near future."

Canada file: Foreign Minister Peter MacKay went public with his government's "concern" over Communist espionage (CTV, Small Dead Animals), one of the key matters the previous government largely ignored. Meanwhile, the Communist regime ripped the Great White North for taking in Lu Decheng (Boxun, see also seventh item), and Judi McLeod (Canadian Free Press) sees what Canadian Commie-phile Maurice Strong is doing these days.

New German government focused on Communist espionage, too: Canada isn't alone; Germany's new Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble "ordered . . . a special report on the Chinese spies in the country, activity of which he considers as threatening as the activity of radical Islamists" (Axis).More on Communist China and Iran: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is close to granting the Iranian mullahcracy full membership (Cybercast News); the East Turkestan Government-in-exile weighs in on the mullahs' nuclear ambitions.

More on Stalinist North Korea: As the regime prepares to "survive U.S.-led sanctions" (United Press Int'l via Washington Times) and made more threats about a nuclear stockpile (Washington Post, fourth item), families of Japanese abductees called on the U.S. to "pressure North Korea so they can finally learn the truth about the whereabouts of the missing" (Washington Post), while dovish South Korea tried the carrot-and-carrot approach for its abductees (Washington Times, second item). The BBC details many Stalinist "ways to raise money" - such as "smuggling liquor into Islamic countries, and trafficking horns and ivory out of Africa to sell to Chinese businessmen." DailyNK adds another - drugs. The regime is also busy banning "private employment" (Daily NK) and running crackdowns on Christian missionaries (Daily NK) and Shinuiju (Daily NK). A defector credits South Korean radio broadcasts with giving him the incentive to flee (Daily NK), while Jim Frederick (Time Asia) present the story of a prisoner who escaped. In South Korea, meanwhile, former President Kim Young Sam rips his dovish successor (Kim Dae Jung) for "feeding the dying Kim Jung Il dictatorship with the tax of South Korean citizens" (Daily NK), while a dovish Assemblyman plays astonishingly fast and loose with the facts surrounding a defector's story (Daily NK).

Dovish South Korea decides to send Falun Gong practitioners back to Communist China: As if the $un$hine debacle wasn't enough, the dovish South Korean government has decided there is "insufficient evidence to prove the terror of the (CCP's) persecution (of Falun Gong)" and has ordered practitioners to be sent back. Even more troubling, of the 200 or so refugees from Communist China in South Korea "no one has obtained asylum status authorized by the Korean government" (Epoch Times).

More talk on the Vatican ditching Taiwan: This time it comes in the Washington Post, and the most worrying part about it is this: "Apart from Taiwan, the other main dispute between Beijing and the Vatican, over the power to choose Chinese bishops, has moved close to resolution as well, according to Ren Yanli, a specialist in church-state relations at the government's Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Under an informal system, he said, the Chinese government has taken to naming clerics it knows already have been named by the Vatican." The Church, which still has millions of followers who risk arrest by refusing to worship in the Communist-controlled version of the Catholic faith, has already said "it is willing to break with Taiwan and set up diplomatic relations with Beijing as part of an overall accord guaranteeing the church's role in China." Yours truly's spiritualjourney remains unfinished.

Communists deny Sujiatun; State Department finds nothing, but probes go on: The cadres' sent an open letter to the world insisting everything in Sujiatun (lead, seventh, second, seventh, third, fourth, fifth, last, second, third, lead, second, fifth, fifth, last, and last items) was on the up and up, and got the State Department to agree (well, sort of - Small Dead Animals). Yours truly still believes Sujiatun was real (I'll explain my reasoning later in the week), while theEpochTimes stands by its story, as do its sources (EpochTimes). The EpochTimes also took some unveiled, but well-deserved, shots at the rest of mainstream media for refusing to pay much attention to this, and were joined in that by the Toronto Sun's Peter Worthington. The story has shown one Epoch Times reporter the truth behind the axiom: "China is a reporter's heaven, yet at the same time it can be a reporter's hell." By the way, the supposedly self-assured Communists still won't let an independent investigator into the country (Epoch Times), and Hu Yaobang's former secretary Lin Mu has called for an international investigation (Epoch Times).

More from Gao Zhisheng: The attorney wins the admiration of the aforementioned Lin Mu (Epoch Times) and loses a lease after his would-be landlordis tortured (Epoch Times), but he refuses to be silenced (EpochTimes).

More news and commentary on human rights in Communist China: Fellow attorney Guo Guoting, who escaped to Canada, details the horrors of the Communist "Reeducation Through Labor" system (Epoch Times). Russ Kuykendall (Western Standard) reminds Shotgun readers of the plight faced by Protestant believers in Communist China. A document from the 610 office calling for a "concentrated and bottom-up investigation" of Falun Gong in Hebei Province falls into the hands of the Epoch Times. Steven Mufson, Washington Post, examines how Communist China has been able to keep the pro-democracy netizens at bay (and in jail), while Congressman Christopher Smith proposes a way to stop that (National Review Online). Communist police in Shanghai shut down a press conference by parents angry over their children being infected with AIDS thanks to "a hemophilia drug (made with) HIV-infected blood" (Washington Post). Communist China accounted for 4 out of every 5 known executions on the planet last year (BBC). The editors of the Washington Times examine the fate of the regime's political prisoners. Another town in Guangdong Province loses a resident after an attacked by Communist police (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times). Reporters without Borders catches up with former prisoner Huang Qi (Boxun). A cadre tries to defend the hideous "one child" policy (UPI via Washington Times). The number of ex-Communists passes ten million (EpochTimes).Communist China bans shipping near gas field claimed by Japan: The cadres' move to block shipping "while Chinese workers lay pipelines and cables in the area" (BBC) around the Pinghu gas field is greatly troubling to Japan, which also claims that field.

Communist China blocks any UN sanctions against Sudan: The Communist regime plainly stated through its UN envoy that "the time was not right for the measures proposed by the UK and the US" (BBC).

Communists put Mao statue in Tibet and bar Dalai Lama from Buddhist conference: That the cadres' would ban Tibet's spiritual leader from the World Buddhist Forum is no surprise (Epoch Times), nor would the move to build a statue honoring the man who force the Dalai Lama into exile be any real shock (BBC). However, if the intent is to erode the support for the Dalai Lama within Tibet, the account of Phuntsog Nyidron in the Washington Times makes clear it is not succeeding.

On the economy Communist China: Communist China's economy is still roaring - if we are to believe the statistics (BBC). This is troubling to Hu Jintao - if we are to believe him (BBC). However, much of that growth comes from public investment that according to the World Bank has a failure rate of "as high as 30%" (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency (via Epoch Times), Communist China's continuing purchases of Boeing airplanes may be about more than the missile chip add-ons: the cadres have apparently let their own aircraft construction industry atrophy.

Friday, April 14, 2006

As some of you may already know, yours truly will be spending next week on a family vacation. As such, the next News of the Day won't be up until April 24 (and given what will be happening in between, odds are it will be a long one).

More on Communist China and the United States: Jennifer Chou, Radio Free Asia, has another issue for President Bush to bring up with Hu - political prisoners (Weekly Standard).The flap over whether or not Hu is making a "state visit" to the U.S. (eleventh item) is on again (Cybercast News). Martin Walker (United Press Int'l via Washington Times) provides some disappointing analysis on the upcoming summit. Meanwhile, the Communists "will let companies and individuals make investments overseas for the first time" (Washington Post); the move will supposedly force Communist China's deliberately devalued currency to inch upward, but some analysts have their doubts.More on Taiwan: Lien Chan, former leader of Taiwan's pan-reds - ahem, pan-blues - is repeating his Beijing debacle of last year, completely "ignoring China's military threat" (BBC), and instead letting loose this whopper: "Faced with China's rise, we should be benign, optimistic and focused on co-existence and shared prosperity" - so much for worries about the cadres' military build-up and the fate of Taiwan's democracy.

Communist media banned from using foreign reports: The Communist regime "has told local TV stations not to use video from foreign sources to produce news bulletins" (BBC). From now on, "only use news reports provided by the state-run China Central Television and China Radio International" can be used.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

From the China Support Network: The parent org fires the rhetorical double-barrel at the Associated Press and Reuters for conveniently forgetting who appoints the Lamas in Tibetan Buddhism, namely the Dalai Lama.

More on Google, Yahoo, and the Communists web crackdown: Jay Nordlinger (National Review Online) is as skeptical toward Google's "follow the law" (BBC) tripe as China Intel. Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders took the time to show Yahoo employees what ordinary Chinese really think of them (Boxun), and Shi Shan, Epoch Times, examines Communist China electronic dragnet, a.k.a. the "Golden Shield."

More on the Communists' Korean colony: The Stalinists want the U.S. to end its anti-counterfeiting sanctions (BBC) before they'll agree to restart the six-party charade; the U.S. won't budge (United Press Int'l via Washington Times). Meanwhile, Japan confirms that a South Korean abducted by the Stalinists was married to their Megumi Yokota; his mother made an impassioned plea for his return (BBC, Daily NK, and UPI via Washington Times).

Talk about a misleading headline! This is what the Washington Times used as the title: "Russia, China slam Iran's nuke plans." The actual story had not a single quote from the Communists, while the Russian official quoted did everything but slam the mullahcracy.

More on the Iranian regime: The editors of National Reviewpresent the most comprehensive program for the liberation of Iran. William Kristol, Weekly Standard, presents the case for military action - but with not mention of liberation, it comes off surprisingly weak. Still, today's Ignorant Comment of the Day comes from James D. Zirin of the Council on Foreign Relations: "The Iranians don't like terrorism either" (Washington Times).

Bush asks Hu Jintao for currency movement: President Bush "met yesterday with a Chinese vice prime minister, Wu Yi, on U.S.-Chinese trade issues" (Washington Times) and later called on Communist leader Hu Jintao to "make a statement on his currency." Communist China's deliberately devalued currency has damaged nearly every producer, domestic and foreign alike, looking to sell goods to Americans.

More on Communist China and the United States: Charles R. Smith (Newsmax) presents more examples of Communist China's anti-Americanism in action. Sadly, the conventional wisdom on Sino-American trade still holds sway in many areas (Washington Times, National Review Online).

On Communist China and Canada: Human Rights in China (via Boxun) "welcomes the discharge of dissident Lu Decheng from the custody of Thai authorities and his arrival in Canada, where he has been offered political asylum" (see also seventh item), but laments the dissidents abroad stuck in diplomatic "limbo." Friendly Blog Small Dead Animals takes aim at the "Bodies" exhibit (fifth item). Neil Waugh (Edmonton Sun) seems uneasy about "massive importation of foreign workers" in Alberta's oil sands, especially a contingent from Communist China. Finally, Wenran Jiang, of the University of Alberta, examines Communist China's energy strategy, then becomes an apologist for it, in China Brief.

More on the "Bodies" exhibit: The exhibit's director hints no one has the right to question from where the exhibit got its cadavers (London Telegraph).

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization held another meeting (UPI via Washington Times, fourth item). Communist China tries to stretch the long arm of tyranny into Malaysia (Epoch Times).

More on Communist China and energy: Peter Mattis of The National Bureau of Asian Research examines the cadres' dependence on coal, while Dr. Ian Storey, Assistant Professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, focuses on Communist designs for energy routes in Southeast Asia (ChinaBrief).

More on organ "donations": Amid more evidence of a sudden surge in transplants (Sound of Hope Radio via Epoch Times), Lin Mu, the former secretary to the late Hu Yaobang calls for an international investigation (Epoch Times), and the Epoch Times editors respond to the latest Communist denial of Sujiatun. Meanwhile, a practitioner now safe in Argentina gives her account of the intense interest in her organs while she was tortured in a Harbin labor camp (Epoch Times).

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance:China Intel laments "our own Pan-Blue coalition in the United States" (great line!); the Korea Liberator has the latest news on Stalinist North Korea.

More on Taiwan: Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, head of Taiwan's Pan-Blues, made another rhetorical ode to the "status quo" (Washington Times) - without bothering to mention the Communist missile buildup that continues to destabilize it. Does Mayor Ma consider Chen Shui-bian a greater threat to Taiwan than Hu Jintao? Has anyone thought to ask him yet?

More on the Communists' Korean colony: The talks on the talks end without progress, but the Stalinists got a propaganda boost from some European sycophants - ahem, investors (BBC); Daily NK examines the ways and means of Stalinist "diplomacy."

Reporters Without Borders calls for Li Jianping acquittal: The journalist-rights group's call for the internet-based dissident writer (fourth and fifth item) was reprinted on Boxun.

Another Guangdong village, another land seizure: The village in question today is Foshan, where "over a thousand local residents gathered in Foshan's Titian Township to protest the corrupt officials' illegal seizure of their farmland" (Central News Agency, Taiwan, via Epoch Times). Foshan know joins Taishi, Shanwei, Sanshan (fifth item), and Sanjiao (third item) as Guangdong jurisdictions with land-stealing cadres.

Lu Decheng is now safe in Canada: Tiananmen protestor Lu Decheng's delayed escape to Canada (fifth item) finally happened yesterday; an earlier attempt to leave Thailand was stopped when "Beijing applied intense pressure on the Thai government to keep him in detention" (CBC).

Communist China grants trade concessions, and gets Boeing planes in return: OK, OK, the Boeing sale of 80 jets to the cadres was supposed to be one of the trade moves by the cadres in America's favor (BBC), but after Boeing's last media mention (fourth item), one can get confused as to who gains from that deal.

U.S. military academic meets top Communist general: Michael Dunn, president of the U.S. National Defense University, met with Liang Guanglie, the Communist military Chief of the General Staff in Beijing. During the meeting, Liang "briefed Dunn on China's military construction and expounded on China's stance on the Taiwan issue" (United Press Int'l via Washington Times).More on Communist China and the rest of the world: Ethan Gutmann, author of Losing the New China (and member since 2004) discussed how Western businessmen are selling their souls to the cadres (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, Taiwan's Central News Agency (via Epoch Times) show how the Communists' claim that their regime has modernized China rings hollow in so many areas.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

From the China Support Network: The parent org brings attention to bird flu, and the Communists' failure to be completely honest about it (eleventh, lead, second, and last items).

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: Daphne Bramham (Can West via Between Heaven and Earth) sounds the alarm against Communist propaganda in Canada (for the folks outside Canada, Can West and Rogers Communications - the Communist channels' sponsor - are television rivals, but it's still a great piece). ChinaIntel calls for President Bush to stand up for Taiwan (former) and relays a report on the cadres' space plans (latter). The Korea Liberator comments on the suffering of Charles Robert Jenkins (seventh, fourth, last, second, and third items), who is certain other Americans are still in Stalinist North Korea.

More on the Communists' Korean colony: Amid more talks on six-party talks (BBC), Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il wants another summit with South Korea (United Press International via Washington Times), and gets a new diplomatic friend - Burma (Washington Times). Meanwhile, Daily NK has the latest on the fall of "Juche" and the rise of "military first" in SNK.

President Bush tells Congress to zip it on Hutchison deal: According to Charles Smith (Newsmax), "word inside Capitol Hill is that President Bush personally met with Senate and House leaders from both parties and demanded that they keep the ranks silent on China," in particular criticism over the Hutchison Whampoa port screening deal (lead and second items). Of course, as Smith sadly notes, neither party has clean hands on Communist China, or Hutchison.

More on Communist China and the United States: Jay Nordlinger has the Enlightened Comment of the Day - his interview of Dr. Charles Lee (ninth item) in National Review Online. The Epoch Times talks to Congressman Dana Rohrbacher about Sujiatun and the failure of "engagement." Jamie Glazov would have taken top prize for this Front Page Magazineinterview with exiled dissident Harry Wu - but for Nordlinger. Protestors in Tallahassee, Florida focused in Sujiatun (Epoch Times). Finally, just in time for Hu's trip to Washington, Communist China's trade surplus "almost doubled in March" (BBC).

Bob Geldof whacks Communist China over Darfur, while Red Ken shills for them in Beijing: The Mayor of London used his trip to Beijing to downplay the Tiananmen Massacre (thousands dead), comparing it to London's "poll tax riots" (none dead - BBC). Meanwhile, longtime anti-poverty activist Bob Geldof did his native Britain far better justice in discussing Darfur: "The reason why it has not been resolved is because of China . . . The Chinese protect the Khartoum government, who are killers, and they will not allow a vote in the [U.N.] Security Council" (Cybercast News).

Communists shut down poetry site, likely for link to Boxun: Cadres in Shandong "closed and then apparently re-opened a popular Internet poetry forum after it posted articles critical of China’s education system and linked to the overseas news portal Boxun, which is blocked in China" (Radio Free Asia). Site administrator Lu Yang had this to say: "it seems that self-expression comes at a price."

Maoist resurgence nixes private property protection: Remember when Communist China trumpeted a proposed law protecting private property (twenty-seventh item)? Well, during an ABC News story on the divisions within the party between the Deng-Jiang Zemin followers and a resurgent Maoist school of thought, this bombshell came out: "Last month the draft property law was withdrawn from discussion at the National People's Congress because of the controversy over its contents."

Communists try, again, to clean up corruption in soccer: The Communists have been grappling with "corruption in the country's professional soccer leagues" (BBC) for some time now (seventh item). The current plan involves "closing down gambling rings and online gaming sites and . . . tough penalties for match fixing and bribery."

Shanghai Automotive to export cars: Coming to a dealership near you is Communist-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (BBC).